Samsung Galaxy crisis hits the gaming world with explosive results

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 used as weapon in videogame

They've been banned on planes, they've been recalled and now they've explosive weapons on Grand Theft Auto – it's not a good time to be a Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

The phones' batteries are prone to catching on fire and have been recalled globally after countless reports of the devices bursting into flames.

So it was only a matter of time before people started making light of the technology disaster, and what better platform to do so than on a horrifically violent video game like Grand Theft Auto?

A fan with the username HitmanNiko uploaded a modification (known to gamers as a "mod") to the fifth version of the game featuring the phone as weapon – replacing the sticky bomb with a graphic of the Galaxy Note 7.

The result is a combination of animated atrocities with a hint of humour, which has been downloaded more than 6000 times.

HitmanNiko managed to produce a pretty advanced modification to the game, going as far as to allow users to change the phone's wallpaper.

The mod went online at the start of the month, and while it would have garnered a few actual laughs out loud the people at Samsung were not happy.

Tech site The Verge is reporting they demanded the original video of the mod posted of YouTube to be ripped off the internet, citing the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act in their take-down.

But other videos still remain at large on YouTube, and it's not yet clear if they will be taken down.

It's been a horrific week for the poor souls in the Samsung PR department, with Australian airlines banning the phone on flights on Sunday, prohibiting passengers from carrying the device even when switched off.

Samsung has since set up collection points for the fire-starting phones at Australia's major airports.

But TBH if you can't bring it on to a plane with you, it's probably safe to say they are some form of weapon.